Japanese car maker Toyota has announced that it will shut down its only Russian plant, joining other makers in countries that have restricted or plan to trade in Russia. ..
“Toyota MotorRussia will stop production at its St. Petersburg plant from March 4, and due to supply chain disruptions, it will stop importing vehicles until further notice,” the company said. announcement March 3rd.
The St. Petersburg plant is Toyota’s only manufacturing facility in Russia, manufacturing the Camry and RAV4 models primarily for the domestic market. With 168 retail stores, Toyota is Russia’s largest Japanese car brand. The St. Petersburg plant employs 2,000 workers and produces 80,000 vehicles.
Toyota does not have a factory in Ukraine, but has 37 retail stores. Activities at these stores were suspended on February 24, when Russia began the war. Manufacturing and sales operations in other parts of Europe will continue to function normally.
“Toyota, like everyone in the world, has a great interest in the safety of the Ukrainian people and is monitoring the ongoing development in Ukraine and hopes to return to peace as soon as possible. As a company operating in Ukraine and Russia, our priority in dealing with this crisis is to ensure the safety of all team members, retail staff and supply chain partners. ” The company added.
Honda, which sold 1,406 units in Russia in 2020, stopped exporting motorcycles and automobiles to Russia due to difficulty in transporting vehicles and payment problems.
Mitsubishi Motors has announced that it may suspend sales and manufacturing activities due to supply chain disruption due to sanctions against Moscow, and Nissan is monitoring the situation and has decided to continue operations even now. .. Last year, we sold about 53,000 cars in Russia.
Mazda Motor Corporation announced that it will soon end exporting parts to its plant in Vladivostok. The brand sold 30,000 cars in Russia in 2021.
More than 50% of Japan’s exports to Russia in 2020 were made up of automobiles and related parts.
Japan announced on Tuesday that it would freeze the assets of six Russians, two Russian state-owned banks, and a central bank. Currently, exports to 49 Russian entities are banned.
On Thursday, another 18 Russian and 7 Belarusian officials were charged with asset freezes. Tokyo plans to impose stricter export restrictions on Belarus.
Four more Russian banks freeze their assets. Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said Tokyo would support European Union sanctions. Japan is trying to confirm that measures to block Russia from the international payment system SWIFT are effective by freezing the assets of Russian banks.
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Naveen Athrappully is a news reporter covering business and global events in The Epoch Times.